Death toll from typhoon 'Pepeng' hits 419

MANILA, Philippines - The death toll from typhoon “Pepeng” has reached 419, mostly from landslides in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said yesterday.

In an update, the NDCC said 333 of the fatalities were in CAR, 71 in Ilocos Region, 10 in Central Luzon, four in Bicol, and one in Quezon province.

The NDCC said 184 people were injured while 51 are still missing as of press time.

More than 74,000 people are still staying in evacuation centers.

Relief and rehabilitation operations by various government agencies are continuing, the NDCC added.

Pepeng affected more than 3.1 million people and damaged more than P10.4 billion worth of crops and infrastructure, the NDCC said.

Meanwhile, the NDCC said tropical storm “Ondoy” which brought massive floods to Metro Manila and neighboring provinces has killed 354 people as of the latest count.

It has also left more than P10.8 billion in damage to agriculture and infrastructure.

NDCC spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said they have not monitored any significant effect of the release of water from major dams in Central and Northern Luzon since Wednesday night.

“There is still flooding in some areas but the release of water from major dams has not caused any drastic effect or aggravated flooding in these areas,” he said.

However, the NDCC said hundreds of residents in the Caraballo mountain range, where an artificial dam was found, have been evacuated by the Army and the local government.

The remaining residents have been alerted for possible evacuation, the NDCC said.  – James Mananghaya